Undercover system of an engine compartment of a vehicle

ABSTRACT

An undercover system is attached to the bottom of a vehicle engine compartment. A cover has at least one inlet to introduce air from under the engine compartment into the engine compartment. The cover may have a downwardly slanted surface, and the inlet may be near the slanted surface. The inlet may include an opening, and a guide portion to guide the air toward the opening. The guide portion may have a corner pointing toward the front of the vehicle. The cover may also have an exhaust portion behind the inlet, to exhaust the air. The exhaust portion may include an exhaust guide plate slanted toward the engine compartment. The cover may also include an oil drain hole. An additional exhaust portion may be provided behind the exhaust portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2007-0123559, filed in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office on Nov. 30, 2007, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an undercover system of an enginecompartment of a vehicle.

(b) Description of the Related Art

An undercover is sometimes provided at the bottom of a vehicle enginecompartment. When an undercover is not provided, road noise istransmitted into the passenger compartment. Also, parts of the enginecompartment may have shortened lifespans due to the introduction ofdirt, or aerodynamic performance of the vehicle may suffer.

When an undercover is provided, heat is not sufficiently dissipated outof the engine compartment. For this reason, the undercover does notusually billy cover the bottom of the engine compartment, but typicallycovers only areas where major noises occur.

It is therefore desirable to provide an undercover system that providesboth sufficient air flow in the engine compartment and sufficient soundinsulation.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only forenhancement of understanding of the background of the invention andtherefore it may contain information that does not form the prior artthat is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill inthe art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An undercover system is attached to the bottom of a vehicle enginecompartment. A cover has at least one inlet to introduce air from underthe engine compartment into the engine compartment.

The cover may have a downwardly slanted surface, and the inlet may benear the slanted surface. The inlet may include an opening, and a guideportion to Wide the air toward the opening. The guide portion may have acorner pointing toward the front of the vehicle.

The cover may also have an exhaust portion behind the inlet, to exhaustthe air. The exhaust portion may include an exhaust guide plate slantedtoward the engine compartment. The cover may also include an oil drainhole. An additional exhaust portion may be provided behind the exhaustportion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a bottom view of an undercover system for a vehicle enginecompartment according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the undercover system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3( a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3( b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3( c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of air flow in and out of the enginecompartment in a vehicle equipped with the undercover system of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS INDICATING PRIMARY ELEMENTS IN THEDRAWINGS

500: undercover system 100: the first main body 200: the second mainbody 300: the third main body 110: inlet portion 115: slanted surface117: guide portion 118: inlet opening 120: exhaust portion 130: exhaustportion 125: exhaust guide plate 140: oil drain hole 400: enginecompartment 405: bumper 410: radiator 420: engine 430: exhaust system390: road

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will hereinafter bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

An undercover system 500 according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention is provided at the bottom of an engine compartment 400in order to isolate the engine compartment 400 from the lower side ofthe vehicle. The undercover system 500 includes a first main body 100,which includes at least one inlet portion 110 that takes in air fromunder the engine compartment 400.

Several inlet portions 110 may be symmetrically provided along thevehicle width direction. In the illustrated embodiment, two inletportions 110 are provided, however, it should be understood that thepresent invention is not limited thereto.

As shown in FIG. 3, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, the first main body 100 includes a slanted surface 115 thatis slanted downward toward a road 390. The inlet portion 110 is formedat the slanted surface 115. Therefore, the air that flows between theengine compartment 400 and the road 390 while the vehicle is running maybe easily guided into the engine compartment 400.

In order to strengthen the guiding effect of the air into the enginecompartment 400, the inlet portion 110 includes an inlet opening 118that is open toward the engine compartment, and a guide portion 117 thatguides air toward the inlet opening 118.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the guide portion 117 may be triangular withone corner pointing toward the vehicle front. This shape minimizes theamount that the inflow of the air into the engine compartment 400affects the air flow under the engine compartment 400.

The undercover system 500 further includes a second main body 200connected with the first main body 100 at a rear of the first main body100. The second main body 200 includes an exhaust portion 120 thatexhausts air from the engine compartment 400.

The second main body 200 may be connected with the first main body 100in various ways, such as by a rivet or a screw fastener, or by beingintegrally formed.

An oil drain hole 140 may be provided on the second main body 200 fordraining engine oil and extracting the oil filter from the enginecompartment 400. The oil drain hole 140 may be at a locationcorresponding to an oil fan (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 3, the exhaust portion 120 according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention includes an exhaust guide plate 125slanting upward toward the engine compartment 400. The exhaust guideplate 125 ensures that the air in the engine compartment 400 isnaturally and smoothly exhausted outward while the vehicle is running.

The undercover system 500 further includes a third main body 300connected with the second main body 200 at a rear of the second mainbody 200. The third main body 300 includes an exhaust portion 130 thatexhausts air from the engine compartment 400.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the thirdmain body 300 may be connected with the second main body 200 in variousways, such as by a rivet or a screw fastener, or by being integrallyformed.

As shown in FIG. 4, while the vehicle is running, the air flows into theengine compartment 400 through openings above and below the bumper 405so as to cool the radiator 410, and then flows through the enginecompartment 400.

At the same time, air from under the engine compartment 400 enters theengine compartment 400 through the inlet portion 110, and then passes bythe engine while flowing through the engine compartment 400.

The air flows rearward in the engine compartment 400. The air may beexhausted through the exhaust portions 120, 130. Heat of the engine 420and exhaust system 430 may be sufficiently exhausted through the exhaustportions 120 and 130.

While this invention has been described in connection with what ispresently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

1. An undercover system configured to be attached to a bottom of anengine compartment, comprising: a cover comprising at least one inletconfigured to introduce air from under the engine compartment into theengine compartment.
 2. The undercover system of claim 1, wherein the atleast one inlet comprises a plurality of inlets.
 3. The undercoversystem of claim 1, wherein the cover further comprises a downwardlyslanted surface, wherein the inlet is disposed near the slanted surface.4. The undercover system of claim 1, wherein the inlet comprises anopening, and a guide portion configured to guide the air toward theopening.
 5. The undercover system of claim 4, wherein the guide portioncomprises a corner pointing substantially toward a vehicle front.
 6. Theundercover system of claim 1, wherein the cover further comprises anexhaust portion configured to exhaust the air, disposed behind theinlet.
 7. The undercover system of claim 6, wherein the exhaust portioncomprises an exhaust guide plate slanted toward the engine compartment.8. The undercover system of claim 1, wherein the cover further comprisesan oil drain hole.
 9. The undercover system of claim 6, furthercomprising an additional exhaust portion behind the exhaust portion,configured to exhaust the air.